The City wants to compare the salaries of Wilmington employees with those of their counterparts in other cities, and judging by the comments on our website, viewers have plenty to say.

The study will be commissioned because multiple departments think their salaries lag behind other cities. But residents wanted to know why the City chose to pay more than $200,000 for an independent company to conduct the study -- and why the City isn't simply doing the study itself.

Mayor Saffo said that a major reason for a third-party perspective is to avoid bias and criticism.

Saffo said, "If our City human relations director came to us with a recommendation, I guarantee you it would be criticized. When it's an independent third party that's looking at it, which has no dog in the fight, then that person will look at it objectively."

The study will not only look at employee salaries, but will also adjust for cost of living expenses.

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Everyone needs to look at this as a possible antitrust violation. If you believe that the city and the consulting firm has created a labor market on paper different than the actual market then this could be wage fixing which is a violation of the Sherman antitrust act. Look up Todd v. Exonn for a better explanation or just type in wage fixing antitrust violations.If this consulting firm is being hired by other public employers in your area you could have a case of bid rigging also. There are thousands of firms who specialize in conducting salary studies. Find out how many firms bid on the job if there are not any you have been scamed.